Survey highlights poor password security

According to a recent TeleSign survey, most people fail to choose a new password because they don’t want to make the effort to change their current one, feel they are asked to create a new one too often, or fail to remember multiple passwords.

The results have  prompted the cyber security industry to forfeit its dependence on this method of security, with some pros admitting that they are as bad as consumers when it comes to poor password practices.

The survey posed questions to over 2,000 consumers in the UK, and found that 62 per cent use the same website password for multiple accounts.

David Lacey, information security author and researcher, told SCMagazineUK.com that the password method is a poor one, but added that we don’t have much choice as it is inexpensive and everybody is used to it.

He explained:

“The idea of a password that you remember, that you never write down, you keep changing, that only works if you’ve got one or two of them – and today we need hundreds. It’s a failure in security for not providing alternative better methods of doing it.”

Strong password practices form a basic method of keeping personal and company information secure, but many people, as this survey would suggest, are taking them for granted. Businesses have a greater responsibility than individuals when it comes to protecting data, and need to not only apply secure passwords, but also utilise a range of security methods. Filling cyber security jobs would go some way towards ensuring such security measures are applied.